Lafourche Parish Council nearly doubles president's salary

Tuesday

Apr 8, 2014 at 10:19 PM

The Lafourche Parish Council has nearly doubled the parish president's salary beginning in January 2016.

Jacob BatteStaff Writer

The Lafourche Parish Council has nearly doubled the parish president's salary beginning in January 2016. The council voted 7-1 Tuesday to approve an ordinance that will establish the parish president's salary based on the average salary of the sheriff, Clerk of Court and the assessor. Councilman Aaron Caillouet was absent. Parish President Charlotte Randolph earned $70,899 in 2013. That salary will increase 84 percent to about $130,000 at the beginning of the next term. In 2013, Sheriff Craig Webre earned $124,000, former Assessor Mike Martin got $135,000 and Clerk of Court Vernon Rodrigue received $132,000, according to the State Ethics Commission. “This parish has grown with technology, staffing flood protection and the parish president is in charge of the day-to-day activities,” said Councilman Phillip Gouaux. “I agree that the salary is understated for the a multimillion dollar budget that the parish president has to deal with as well as the staffing and employees they're responsible for. They're also in charge of the parish during emergencies. That's a lot of weight on someone making only $70,000.” Several councilmen said they would never run for parish president because the money didn't match the amount of work that needed to be put into the position. One of those councilmen is Jerry Lafont, who said during the meeting that the increase in salary will also bring an increase in qualified candidates to the position. Councilman Daniel Lorraine was the lone dissenting vote and said he believes the parish president's current salary is fair. “If they want to make that much money they should run for those other positions. I don't believe you should take this job for the money,” he said. The president's salary can be amended by a vote of the council, but the parish's Home Rule Charter prohibits the council from granting the raise for a sitting president. The raise can't take effect until after Randolph's term expires on Dec. 31, 2015.Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet has earned $75,782 a year since 2005. In January, the Terrebonne Parish Council adopted an ordinance that would make the salary of the parish president equal to the average salary of the Terrebonne sheriff, assessor and clerk of court.The Lafourche council also voted 5-3 to increase its members' salaries to $17,064 per year, a 26 percent increase, beginning in 2016. Council members will make about $13,500 this year. Lorraine, Gouaux and Joe Fertitta voted against the ordinance. Gouaux said when he ran for the position he wasn't concerned about the money and didn't think the part-time position needed a raise. Lafont argued that the job is closer to a full-time position because of all of the calls and emails he receives from his constituents.

Staff Writer Jacob Batte can be reached at 448-7635 or jacob.batte@dailycomet.com. Follow him on Twitter @ja_batte.

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